To
the untutored, the ups and downs of the stock market seem unfathomable.
But not to Moravian's student-run Amrhein Investment Club.

The
last time we wrote about the club, it had seen its $20,000 in seed
money—a gift from trustee Irving S. Amrhein in 1962—top
$1 million. More recently, the club proved it could hold its own
in bad times as well as good against other student-run portfolio
management groups, when it placed third and fifth in the second
annual Redefining Investment Strategy Education (RISE) symposium
February 21-22 at the Unversity of Dayton (Ohio).

The
conference brought together student-run investment funds from 61
colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. Participants
ranged from students at small liberal arts colleges to graduate
business programs at major universities. The event included a day
of discussion with investment professionals, including a satellite
address by Maria Bartiromo of CNBC's Squawk Box, and competitions
among the various funds.

"I
had intended to bring the officers so they could learn more about
how other funds are managed," said faculty adviser Linda Ravelle,
associate professor of economics and business. "I entered them
into the competition without thinking that we would get very far,
since our returns were not that large."

From
November 2000 to November 2001, she said, the club's Income Fund
earned 2.41% and the Balanced Fund 2.38%. But because markets were
down over the period—the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell
an overall 4.21%, and other markets lost even more—the Amrhein
Club's returns were surprisingly healthy.

For
the competition, five funds were chosen in each of three investment
categories. Ravelle was "pleasantly surprised" when two
of Amrhein's four funds qualified as semi-finalists. "The students
were very nervous once they realized the caliber of school they
were up against, but they really did a great job in their presentations,"
Ravelle said.

In
the value category, Moravian placed third after Stetson University
in DeLand, Fla., which had a 20.4% return, and the University of
Dayton. "We were happy to earn third place because both schools
have well-funded, professionally supported portfolio-management
programs," Ravelle said. Many in the competition were students
who manage portfolios as part of a class, whereas Moravian students
("and their advisor," she added) do all their work on
a volunteer basis in their spare time.

In
the growth category, students in the M.B.A. program at Purdue University
placed first, followed by Millsaps College, Jackson, Miss.; Northern
Arizona University; University of Oregon; and Moravian. The Purdue
students had a daunting 51.2% return for the year, but "they
did not want to share any information, so we did not learn their
secret," Ravelle said, adding dryly: "I suspect that this
level of return is not sustainable."